Ring-guard for straps.



8. SMITH.

. RING GUARD FOR STRAPS.

APPLICATION FILED OCT- 3, 1914- 1,171,898, Patented Feb.15, 1916.

19% 131 1' an V -1 1 "o 1 1221" MM 1M1! 1 1 I- ,5

UVVENTU/Q W/TNEESEE mmjgf 5.1% v v W A TTURN/f: Y5.

THE COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH 00., WASHINGTON, D. c

, UNITED STATES PATENT oEE oE- SINGLETON SMITH, or MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin,AssIsnoR To THE WALLACE & SMITH 00., oEMILwAUKEE, WISCONSIN,'ACORPORATION or WISCONSIN.

RING-GUARD FOR STRAPS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SINGLETON SMITH, a citizen of the United States, andresident of Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee anl State oflViscOnsin, have invented new and useful Improvements in Ring-Guards forStraps, of which the following-is adescription, reference being hadv tothe accompanying drawings, which, are a part of this specification. p

This invention relates to improvements in ring guards for straps andmore particularly, although not solely, for harness back straps. I

In harness construction the forward ends of the back straps are usuallyprovided with metal rings which are connected to eyes projecting fromopposite sides of thehame. The metal rings are held by loops in thestraps and the loops are usually encircled by leather bands for holdingthe. loops in a flattened position. The looped portions of the harnessstraps are subjected to considerable wear and ofttimes break through theloops while under strain. Rings of ordinary straps are also connected tothe straps by looping the straps through the rings so that the rings areheld in the single loops of the straps and the constant rubbing of therings against the single thickness of the leather of the loops also soonwears and weakens the portions of the straps engaged.

It is one of the objects of the present invention to overcome the beforementioned objectionable feature and provide a ring guard which serves toreinforce the ring loop of the strap and eliminate the wear of the ringdirectly on the loop of the strap.

A further object of the invention is to provide a ring guard for strapsin which the guard may also be used in lieu of the encircling band forholding the strap loop in a flattened position.

A further object of the invention is to provide a ring guard for strapswhich is ornate in appearance and which is'of very simple constructionand is well adapted for the purpose desired.

With the above and other objects in view the invention consists of theimproved ring guard for straps and its parts and combinations as setforth in the claim, and all equivalents thereof.

In the accompanying drawing in which the same reference charactersindicate the which the strap extends.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Feb, 15 1916 Application filedOctober 8, 1914. Serial No. 865,630.

'sameparts in all of the views, Figure 1 is a fragmentary side view of aback strap of a harness vprovlded with the improved ring guard, otherportions of the harness being indicated, by, dotted lines; Fig. 2 is aside view one large scale ofthe ringed end of a back strap provided withthe. improved ring guard; Fig. 3 is anedge view thereof;

Fig. 4: is a longitudinal sectional view thereof taken on. line H ofFig. 2; Fig. 5'is a side view of astrap provided with a modified form ofring guard; and Fig. 6 isa longitudinal sectional view taken on lineReferring tofthe-drawin'g the numeral 8 indicates the back strap of aharness, .9 the collar and 10 the hamemount-ed thereon. The forwardendof the back strap is folded overupon itself to form a loop 11 and thefolded end is usually provided with a buckle 12 which adjustablyconnects the end portion to a medial part of the strap. The ring 13 isencircled by the loop portion 11 of the strap and also by the hooked endportion 14 of the guard member 15 mounted on the strap. The guard memberis preferably formed of metal and is provided with the before mentionedhooked end portion 14 projecting from one end thereof and also withtransverse slots 16 and 16' through These slots divide the member intotransverse end portions 17 and 17, a transverse medial portion 18 andconnecting side portions 19. The transverse medial portion 18 is offsetupwardly and the transverse portion 17 is offsetdownwardly to increasethe width of the slots and. to permit the strap portions to extendtherethrough in approximately a straight line. i

The portion of the strap of the upper part of the loop is extendedthrough the slots beneath the transverse medial portion 18 and wear ofthe ring. Furthermore as both the upper and the lower portions of theloop pass through one of the slots of the guard the guard also serves asa band to hold the loop in flattened position and eliminates the use ofthe ordinary leather band.

In the modified form shown in Figs. 5 and 6 the guard member is formedof leather or other like material instead of metal and is adapted to beused in the same manner before described with reference to the metalguard. In the drawing of the modified form, however, only the upperportion of the loop is shown as extending through thetransverse slots 16and 16 and a band 21 encircling both the upper and lower portions of theloop and positioned between the main portion of the guard and the ringserves to hold said loop in afiattened position. A band similar to theband 21v may also be used in connection with the metal guard if desired.

\Vhile the ring guard has been shown and described in connection with aback strap for harness it is to be understood that it may be used inconnection with straps for any other purpose without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention.

From the foregoing description it will. be:

understood that the invention is well adapted for the purpose described.

That I claim as my invention is:

The combination with a strap having a looped engagement with a ring, ofa guard therefor consisting of a member having two transverse slotsthrough winch portions of the strap loop extend, the medial transverseportion of the member between the two slots being offset outwardly fromthe portions of said member on the outer sides of said slots to permitthe strap portions to extend through the slots in approximately astraight line and with the medial portion of.

the member extending over the outer side of the loop, the said memberalso having-a hook-like portion which extends through and is engaged bythe ringand is interposed betweenthe ring and the looped pora Copies ofthis patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing theCommissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

